Precious Lives
by Bayluff
Summary: Mikey meets some rather cute creatures on his way to the store during the snowy season. It's Mikey with puppies, what more could you want?


**Ssssssup guys.**

**I wrote this story. It has puppies in it. And Mikey.**

**Mikey and Puppies.**

**It's a tteeeennnsssyyy bit sad though. I'm sorry. Noi'mnot.**

**Also, please excuse any mistakes. This story is 28 pages long and over 13000 words. I got frustrated half way through proof reading it and just decided to throw caution to the wind, it's not like I'm being graded or anything lol.**

**This didn't turn out _exactly_ how I wanted it BUT I'LL TAKE IT. **

**Hopefully you guys will find some enjoyment in this. It all sounded better in my head, like most things do. **

**Edit: Forgot to add something. My headcanon is that Mikey is kind of like me when dealing with animals. Like, when I see a movie and a human dies I'm like "oh no, well that sucks." but as SOON as an animal gets killed/dies or something i'm just sobbing hysterically and really upset. I'm sure Mike's not as heartless as I am about the death of humans but I can totally imagine him overreacting to animal stuff. Okay sorry for alerting people again *flies away*  
**

**Precious Lives **

I was driving my bros crazy, I realize that. We've been kind a stuck in the lair since a snow storm hit good ol' New York, and sent us, cold-blooded _turtles_ that we are, into the nice, insulated underground.

Since then I made it my personal mission to make sure my bros were aware of my boredom.

Throughout the entirety of Leo's meditating sessions, I would keep myself entertained by sneaking up on him (or trying to) and annoying him to the brink of him almost kicking my butt, before retreating, waiting for him to think he was safe before starting again. It shouldn't be so much fun but it _totally _is.

Raph's a little more dangerous, so he got the more fun parts of my boredom, playing violent video games with me! It was fun spendin' so much time with my hot head, except when I beat him and he accidentally punched me in the face. It was funny though, so I just laughed for a good five minutes while Raph ran to the kitchen to get me an icepack.* Good thing Leo hadn't been around then though, because they probably woulda got into a fight about it and ruined mine and Raph's good time.

Then with Donnie, it was a somewhat similar situation as Leo's. While he was working on programming or computery stuff, he'd be totally out of it, completely entranced with his work. Taking advantage, I'd sneak up behind him, looking as creepy as possible and slowly peek over his shoulder. He'd shriek and flip out every time and it was absolutely hilarious. One time I did it while he was talking to Raph and I'm sure the image of my frozen, creepy face slowly creeping past Donnie's shoulder was hilarious cause it sent the hot head into hysterics…my genius? Not so much. He punched me in surprise, the same cheek that Raphie boy punched just a few hours earlier. This time me and Raph were laughing as Don ran to get an ice pack, the pain was totally worth it.

I wouldn't dare touch Master Splinter though; he could kick my shell all over the place all while drinking tea.

But my brothers were about in for some relief. The snowing had calmed and my Klunker's was outta food! So after a nice hot breakfast of French toast and pancakes (I was sucking up, so sue me!) I quickly asked Leo if I could go get my kitten his food. He looked concerned; he didn't like one of us being alone while the Shred head and his minions were out there. No one wanted to come with me though (they had excuses, good ones, but I know it was just cause they wanted to enjoy having me outta the lair, the meanies) so I begged and pleaded and rolled around on the floor and gripped his leg (I just took in a looot of sugar after all) until _finally_ he relented. He told me to call when I got there and to call when I was leaving.

With a whoop I went to go change, making my way up to my _beautiful_ room (I had actually cleaned it yesterday, like I said I've been bored. Although actually seeing the floor was quite the adventure) I donned some heavy, warm clothes and nuzzled Klunk good bye, assuring him I'd get him all his favorites.

Now was the fun part, mooching money off of Leo! I skipped back down to the kitchen to find Leo peacefully reading a newspaper. It was a few days old, but it still had somewhat relevant and interesting news (to him anyway). He was sipping some tea (the only thing he could really make in the kitchen, he's lucky I let him by the stove at all!) and he glanced at me when I walked in.

"Think you'll be warm enough?" My blue brother asked, setting his newspaper down.

"I think so." I responded, wrapping a finger around the end of my scarf nervously. "Soooo Leo, I'm kiiiind a broke."

Leo sighed. "How much do you need?"

"Well, you know I only feed Klunkers the best, anddd he likes to have his canned food too, AND I need a big bag so I don't have to go get him food often…so I need like…forty dollars?" I responded, feeling kind of bad for asking for so much money.

He sighed and stood. We don't exactly have a lot of ways to get money, sometimes Don takes jobs over the internet to make like, websites and stuff. Not a lot of people ask to meet in person to discuss what they want for their websites, emails usually suffice, and if they do he disguises himself well. Fortunately he's kind of famous now for making really high quality websites for good prices so Mr. Don Hamato has a really good reputation and people don't feel super concerned to actually meet him in person.

But it's all electrical money, money that he wires to April's bank account and April who withdraws it for us. She also pays us for the stuff we do around her shop, like moving objects and guarding the store, so that helps as well. Not really because we openly ask for it, but because it's obvious we _need_ the money. Luckily her store does pretty well, her customer's usually old, rich consumers. Actually, I'm not sure if April got to withdraw us some money before the storm hit. I wouldn't know really, Leo and Don handle the finances. We each get "allowances" so to speak, buuuuttt I kind a spent mine on some merchandise.

I'm relieved however when Leonardo opened his wallet, (an awesome duct tape wallet! I made it for him. It's great) and pulled out a hundred dollar bill.

"You might as well do some grocery shopping while you're out." Leo instructs me, handing me the bill. I looked at it, always fascinating by big bills. He smiled at me gently. "Remember; call when you get there and when you leave. No side stops, okay? It's still kind of cold and I'll feel better when you're safe at home."

I stuffed the bill in my pocket and gave him a hundred watt grin. "Don't worry Leo, I know the protocol!" He rolled his eyes and shooed me away, and I scampered off happily.

I passed by Raph punching the sand outta his punching bag on my way to the elevator and smiled at him. "See ya bro! Don't try to miss me too much."

He stopped momentarily and glared at me slightly. "See ya, don't get hit by a truck."

I stop and put my hands on my hips disapprovingly. "Oh, ONE time."

He growled at me. "You shoulda just let the truck hit the dog; I think yer a lot more important than some mutt."

I made myself look offended, even though I knew Raphie was just concerned. When they saw me get hit (just my legs though, I was almost out of the road with the dog when it hit. The dog was fine by the way! It scampered off while I was writhing in pain) Raph almost blew a gasket when the driver didn't even stop or attempt to slow down (We were kind of glad he didn't, but it's the nature of things!). I ended up breaking both my legs but it was worth it, even though I was absolutely miserable. Man I hope I don't break my legs again, it was quite the bad experience.** "I couldn't just let it happen Raphie! You know how much I love animals."

He sighed and punched his bag again. "Yeah I know, and don't call me Raphie!"

I just laughed, called good bye to my genius (who yelled it back, hurray!) and entered the elevator. Once on the roof, I began to expertly run across the rooftops. Once I got items with me I'd have to walk in the streets, so I took advantage of my free running. I had to be careful though, I mean it just snowed, there's probably ice and water around here somewhere. And like I said, really don't want to break any legs today.

As I was jumping across an alley though, I heard something. Sounded like whimpering. Curious I stopped and peeked over the side and was met with the cutest thing I've seen in a while.

A large, mother German Shepherd was lying on her side, three little pups nuzzled up in her belly, obviously nursing. I smiled at the sight before I grew concerned. It was cold out, and I was worried they had been born during the storm, but the pups look like they had been born for at least a week, and the storm only hit a few days ago. As I looked closer however I could see the mother's ribs sticking out of her side. The fact that I could see them from this distance made me worried. I knew that nursing mommies needed a lot of food to feed their babies.

I jumped down from the roof and carefully landed a good six feet away. She immediately stood up when she saw me, her pups whining pitifully at being disconnected. She stood over them protectively, and it kind of reminded me of Master Splinter. The Shepherd growled at me, warningly. I needed to be careful; she was a German Shepherd after all, _police dogs._

"Hey hey heyyy," I cooed, kneeling down and staying as still as I could. "It's okay, I'm not gonna hurt ya, or yer puppies."

I continued to mummer at her until her hackles lowered slightly. Then I moved a little closer, still speaking soothingly. She growled warningly again, but didn't seem quite as concerned. I could tell she was exhausted.

Still cooing comfortingly at the mother, I continued to creep closer. From my peripheral I saw two lumps and I turned to look at them briefly. I could almost hear my heart shatter at the sight of two, little, _dead_ puppies resting a far ways away from the little pack. Shaking it off, I crept ever closer.

When I was in reach, she growled again, but I just held a hand out for her to sniff. Gazing at me suspiciously, she sniffed it. There was a tense silence for a few moments before she visibly relaxed and laid back down, her still blind puppies quickly returning to their mother's warmth.

"There we gooo…" I drawled, scratching behind her ears and causing her to thump her tail happily. "You must be hungry huh sweetie? Don't worry, Mikey will get you and your pups somewhere safe and warm and-" I cut off, reminded of something.

_It was a few weeks after I had picked up Klunk from the street and he was still getting used to life in a house. Well, sewer lair, if we wanted to get specific._

_I was lying on the couch watching some TV when I heard Raph call my name. Angrily. _

_Slightly fearful (for I didn't do anything, not recently anyway) I trotted over to where he stood by his punching bag and immediately at the sight of it I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing out loud._

_Sand was pouring out of it, not from a fist sized hole, but from multiple scratches running down the bottom. _

"_It was that _cat."_Raph hissed._

"_Aww, c'mon Raph, he didn't mean it. I'll patch it up for you, I promise!" I declared, trying to mute my snickers. _

"_He also scratched on the couch, the walls, and he almost scratched my bike seat, _Mikey!" _He yelled. _

"_He's just getting used to the rules around here, it'll be okay!" I insisted, preparing to bolt for my cat just in case._

"_I don't care Mike! If you bring anymore animals into this lair I will kill them _myself. Capiche_?" He growled. I gulped. _

"_Capiche." _

Ah man, there was no way I could take these cuties to deal with Raph. He'd probably scare them and make it worse. There was also a possibility Leo and Master Splinter would let me take care of them. I couldn't dump them on April either; she has Casey and a store to deal with. I also didn't want to take them to a shelter, because New York's ASPCA is super busy, and if they run out of room…no way. So that means I'm gonna hafta keep them a secret and hide them. The only place I could think of was central park. I'll make them a nice little home in some of the trees (I remember seeing a rather large, hollowed out tree in the middle of the "woods" they had planted.) and visit them every day with supplies. When they're well enough and the puppies old enough I'll take them to April and she can help me find homes for all four of them.

Nodding firmly I stood. "Don't worry babies, I'll be right back. Don't move!" I told them. The mother, that I decided to name Sweetiepie (cause she is!) looked at me before giving a long lick to one of her whining babies.

Taking off at a sprint, I made my way to April's store. It was open now, so I just walked in through the front door. She looked up, a saleswoman smile on her face before she recognized me.

"Mikey?" She said, surprised. We usually call ahead of time…usually. And come through a window. "What's up? Is everything alright?"

I smiled at her and clasped my hands in front of myself pleadingly, using my fully visible blue eyes (didn't wear a mask, to suspicious, just a nice hat and a scarf to cover my face today.) to look as pitiful as possible (they all have weakness for my unusual eyes, suckers.). "April, can I please have like…a ton of blankets? Blankets that you wouldn't mind never seeing again? And a box?"

She blinked at me. "Why do you need blankets?"

I didn't want to tell her about the dogs yet, because there was a possibility of her telling the guys. "Well we're cold blooded ya know? Don's heater isn't…working very well right now. He has to turn it off to fix it but we're all really cold. So please?" A little white lie, I'll tell her the truth when my new charges were well.

April smiled at me. "Oh, of course Mikey. Let me go grab some. And what do you need the box for?"

I smiled. "To carry the blankets!"

She laughed. "True true, hold on."

I wandered around her store for a bit as I waited, amusing myself with tinkering with a few objects. About ten minutes later she came back down, a box full of wooly blankets in a box the perfect size for three pups. A little fixing it would even fit a mother too.

I beamed at her, taking the offered box easily. "Thank you so much April!"

She chuckled. "Tell the guys I said hello for me, kay?"

"Of course, see ya!" I said, leaving the store before jogging once again back to my dogs.

Luckily they were still there, I was slightly concerned of the mom deciding the area was unsafe now that it was discovered and leaving.

She acknowledged me with a bark when I came closer. I showed her the box. "See, warm stuff! Now, let's get you out of this cold alley."

Gently, I took a now slumbering little puppy and placed it in the warm box. Glancing at the mom to make sure she was watching, I took the other too and put them in as well and wrapped them up with the top blanket.

It wasn't till I was standing that Sweetiepie looked unhappy. She scrambled up after me.

"C'mon sweetie, I'm not gonna take them." I lowered a hand to scratch behind her ears before beginning to walk out of the alley; she followed me quickly and stayed really close to my left leg, almost tripping me.

People braving the cold looked at me curiously, and a few girls stopped me on the road when they heard the tell-tale whimpering of puppies. I let them coo over them for a bit until I felt Sweetiepie shift anxiously. I told the girls good bye with a large smile and began walking again. Man, dogs really are girl magnets.

Finally we arrived at central park and I led Sweetiepie into a small, dense tree area. Looking around, I smiled when I saw the hollowed out tree I pictured. I walked over to the hole and cleaned it up a bit before taking the pups out of the box.

They couldn't walk; they could only inch their way across the ground and cry. Sweetiepie was quick to stand over them to try and keep them in one place.

I then broke one side of the box and then the other two sides, leaving one standing. I took out the blankets and rearranged the box into the hole of the tree before spreading the blankets in and a little ways out of it. Smiling I indicated for Sweetiepie to get in. She looked at me strangely for a bit before sniffing the bed I made.

"C'mon, just go in and lay down and I'll give you your babies, kay?" I reasoned, ignoring the fact she probably didn't understand a word I was saying.

Finally she curled up in the box and stared at me anxiously. As promised, I gently plucked her little ones off the cold ground and placed them in the warm nest I had made them.

Satisfied, I stood again. "Alright cuties, I'm gonna go get you guys food and stuff, kay?" With that I sprinted off again.

I was half way to the pet food store when I realized my shell cell was ringing. I nearly kicked myself in the head, it's been like a half hour and it only takes like five minutes to get to the pet store from the lair.

I answered it like a guy going to execution. "Uhhh…hello?"

"Michelangelo." Said the very, _very_ stern voice of my oldest brother. "Where. Are. You."

"I'm at the store dude!" I said quickly. "Sorry, I got distracted by puppies. They're having an adoption fair there today."

"I called you ten times Michelangelo. How did you not hear it?" Leo said angrily. I could just see him rubbing his temples in frustration.

"'M sorry! I told you, there were puppies and kittens and little rabbits too Leo! How could I be aware of anything in that environment?" I argued.

He was silent for a bit before he let out a big sigh. "Alright. I'm just glad you're okay. Hurry home, okay?"

"I will!" I chirped.

We said our good-byes and I jogged the rest of the way to the pet food store. Walking in I said hello to the very friendly staff and immediately grabbed a big bag of cat food, a really good kind. Since we live in the sewers I know my kitten is very much susceptible to illnesses, so I have him eat high quality food that would help his immune system. Me and Donnie spent a good hour in here, listening to the saleswomen explain to me the pros and cons of certain food.

Leaving the bag at the counter I then made my way to the dog food. Choosing one that looked to have a lot of protein and meat in it picked it up, also grabbed some canned dog and cat food. After a bit of contemplation I grabbed some puppy formula and a beaker. Just in case mommy couldn't feed them herself at some point. Finally I grabbed two bowls and some potty pads. I didn't want them doing their business on the blankets after all.***

"Wow, when did you get a dog?" A cashier that I recognized asked.

I just laughed. "Taking care of some pups for a friend."

She laughed. "Good luck with that."

"Thanks!" She rung me up and offered to help me out with my stuff. The employees here always asked that, it was a really good business.

"No thank you, I don't really have a car anyway." I laughed.

"Hold on one second." She told me, jogging to the back for a second before coming back with a cart. "Here."

"Really? Are you sure? I might not be able to get it back to you for a day or two." I told her seriously.

"It's no problem, don't worry about it." She giggled, pushing the cart to me. Happily I thanked her and put my purchases into it.

Now that I had a cart, I decided to get the grocery shopping done first.

"Oop, better call Leo so he doesn't worry." Stopping outside the store I dialed Leo's number and brought it to my ear.

"Mike?" Leo asked when he answered. He was probably waiting for my call intently and I snickered slightly at the mental image.

"Yup! Leaving for the grocery store now." I told him obediently.

I could sense the smile in his voice. "Good, stay warm okay?"

"I'll do my best!" I laughed.

Oooooo

After a quick bit of grocery shopping (I couldn't get very much because I spent like fifty dollars on pet stuff, I'm not quite sure how I'm gonna explain only getting bare essentials but whatever. I'll just blame it on me I suppose.) I made my way back to my dogs. I got a few odd looks when I walked into the trees with a cart full of bags but I ignored it.

Sweetiepie perked up when she saw me and barked at me happily. Laughing I parked my cart and pulled out the two bowls.

"Hey Sweetie, I brought you food and water!" From the cart I also pulled a six pack of water bottles and hid them in a nearby bush after grabbing one. I poured the entire contents into the bowl and placed it in front of her. As she drank I grabbed the potty pads and placed them under her puppies and around the general area. Luckily they hadn't made a mess yet. As I picked one up I couldn't help but nuzzle into its cute little body. Man I wish I could keep all of them.

Mommy Shepherd ended up drinking everything in the bowl, so I sacrificed another bottle of water and placed it in front of her again. She only lapped at it a bit before ignoring it so I set it aside for her to reach later.

Then I pulled out the bag of dog food. At the tell tale sign of food, Sweetiepie immediately perked up.

"Yup, food precious!" He told her, laughing as she got up excitedly and came over to me, nudging at me to hurry. I opened the bag and poured the food in the bowl and she immediately began to scarf it up.

"Easy Sweetie, you don't want to get sick!" I told her, petting her long back. Her tail only began to wag.

After she ate her fill, I placed some more food in the bowl and set it by the water bowl for later. I also stuffed the dog food and puppy formula by the water bottles. Curling the blankets more firmly around the babies, I scratched Sweetie's ears again and smiled at her.

"I gotta get back to my bros now cuties; I'll be back tomorrow okay?" I told them, laughing as the puppies all turned at the sound of my voice and began to cry. Sweetiepie began to lick them gently, trying to clean the grim that was on the pups.

With that I called Leo and told him I was coming home and grabbed my grocery bags and cat food from the cart and made my way home.

Luckily I was able to put away the groceries before anyone could confront me about it so I didn't have to explain why there was so little. Leo came in and I could tell he was checking me over, making sure I was unharmed, the worry wort.

"How is it out there Mike?" Leo asked, sitting down at the table as he watched me make some hot chocolate. I asked him if he wanted one but he said no, he wasn't much of a sweets guy really.

"It's not tooooo bad." I said hesitantly. "The rooftops are a little slippery though. Didn't see any Foot or anything."

"Hm…" Leo began. "Maybe we'll wait one more day before patrolling again. Just in case."

I grinned at him teasingly. "Good luck telling Raph that."

Leo groaned and rolled his eyes. "That hot head. We got in a fight while you were gone."

"Really? That never happens. Except that it does, all the time." I laughed.

He glared at me slightly. "Not _all the time._" He paused for a moment. "…Okay _maybe_. He was all grumpy because when you wouldn't pick up," He glared at me slightly and I grinned sheepishly. "I was _worried_ and he thought I shouldn't be."

I laughed slightly. "Aw, he was probably worried too ya know."

Leo put a cheek in his hand and stared absentmindedly at the wall. "I guess."

"Where's Donnie?" I asked. I wanted to research some stuff for puppies and the only computer we have is in Donnie's lab.

He shrugged. "In his lab, as usual. He didn't sleep last night ya know." Leo told me. I smiled at him.

"That my cue?" My older brother chuckled.

"You know me all too well." Leo said with a smile. "I'm going to go see if I can patch things up with Raph before he decides to go topside or somethin'."

"Kay, I'll take care of Don." I responded, standing from my chair and grabbed my bag of cat food and cans. I needed to get out of these clothes, they're good for topside cold weather, but in a well heated lair I'm blistering!

As I was heading up to my room I almost bumped into Master Splinter. "Oops, sorry sensei." I told him with a smile and a small bow. He smiled at me gently before his brows furrowed and he took two sharp sniffs. My heart dropped. _"Crap! I forgot, Master has the best nose _ever_ he'd totally figure out that I smell like…" _

"Michelangelo, why do you smell like dogs?" He asked me, looking at me in suspicion and confusion. I mean, I have a good excuse, the adoption fair lie I told Leo, but oh my god I CANNOT lie to sensei, he sees right through me.

"When I went to go get Klunk food," I started, looking at the bag so I wouldn't have to look into his eyes. "they were having an adoption fair and stuff with puppies, no biggie."

He hummed at me in suspicion before nodding. "I see, very well then." He continued to walk past me and into the kitchen. "When you are ready to tell me the truth I will be here."

I groaned and made a hasty retreat to my room.

Klunk was waiting for me when I got up there and I grinned at him happily when he meowed in greeting. "Hey Klunkers, gotchur favorites!"

He danced around my legs as I poured some food in his bowl and while he ate I checked his water and took off my clothes. When he was finished the orange kitten came to beg me for more but I just chuckled at him. "No more buddy, you gotta keep your girlish figure!" He didn't seem too impressed but jumped up on my bed and fell asleep regardless.

"Alright, time to deal with Donnie boy." I grinned, jogging back downstairs (man, who needs training, I'm running all over the place today!) and heading towards Don's lab.

"Yo, knock knock!" I chirped, entering through the open side. He looked up at me and smiled slightly and I could see red around his eyes and rather large bags under them. I put my hands on my hips disapproving.

"Hey Don, guess what time it is!" I began dramatically.

"Uh," He glanced at his computer. "Like…one in the afternoon?"

"Nope! Nap time!" I declared.

He looked panicked. "I just need to look at a few more things Mikey that's all and then I'll rest, promise!"

"Nope!" I said happily, walking over to him and grabbing his shoulder. "You go take a nap _now_ my bro, like a three hour one or so. Then you can come down, finish whatever you started, have a nice warm dinner and then you will go to bed at a reasonable hour! Okie dokie?"

He groaned. "But I'm so close to being finished! C'mon Mikeyyyy…" he whined and I knew he was exhausted, he never whined unless he was about to collapse from fatigue but didn't want to give up yet. I think he records how long he can stay awake for the Guinness World record book, that silly mad scientist.

"C'mon Don," I cooed, rubbing the top of his head. "Here I'll even tuck you in, read you a bed time story even!"

My genius smiled at me slightly. "Why do I get the feeling you have alternative reasons for wanting to "tuck me in?" He laughed.

"Tuck in; tie down so you don't leave, what's the difference!" I said with a large smile. He laughed again before letting out a loud sigh.

"Fine…" He said in defeat, saving the progress he had on his computer and shutting it down.

"Good genius good!" I praised, pulling him up and pushing him by his shell in the direction of his room. "I'll even make your favorite soup tonight!"

He smiled at me and yawned. "Thanks Mike, what would I do without you?"

"Well, you'd probably never sleep, and be starving." I said seriously. "But I really shouldn't have to do this Donnie, you're a smarty pants, pay attention to your body more!"

He groaned. "Man, I'm being lectured by Mikey, is it the sign of an apocalypse?" I shoved him playfully.

"Go to bed bro."

"I'm going I'm going." Don said, yawning again and making his way up to his room. I waited until he closed the door before following him up there. I listened at the door for a few moments, until I heard the deep breathing and small snores Donnie lets out in his sleep.

Knowing I was safe now for about an hour, I ran back down to his lab and plopped down in my purple turtle's awesome rollie-chair and powered up the computer.

It was then that I heard noises from the dojo, and I realized Leo and Raph were sparring (or fighting, using the dojo as an excuse. They do that sometimes.). I was safe for now, and with that I spent a good hour or so researching all I could about puppies, even printing some documents out and stuff as well.

When I felt confident in my knowledge, I went in and deleted the history (just in case) and was just about to turn off the computer when Raph came out of the dojo. He looked over at me and I could see a rather evil smile spreading across his face.

"Oh hey Mike, whateru doin' on Don's computa?" He asked, stalking towards me.

I quickly turned off the comp and backed away from him. "J-just, looking up some recipes for dinner and stuff!"

"Hmmmm…" Raph pondered skeptically, stopping in front of me. I knew that if I was going to get his attention away from what I was doing on the computer, I was going to need to do something drastic. I had been backed into one of Don's counters, and from the corner of my eye I noticed a glass full of water.

"_Man, I am so dead."_ I thought as I picked up the glass and quickly threw the contents up into Raph's face.

He looked at me in surprise and I stared up at him with wide eyes. Then, slowly, Raph's gaze became narrower and very _very_ angry. He only said one word and it almost sent me into hysterics. "Dead."

Well, I did say I needed to do something drastic. With a horrible squeal of fear I dropped the glass on the counter and took off running, my big bro chasing after me, yelling about all the horrible things he was going to do to me.

We circled around the area for a bit before I saw my salvation, Leo walking out of the dojo. "LEOOOOO!" I cried, doing a few acrobatic jumps in his direction and landing behind him. I gripped the outside of his shell and whimpered pitifully. "Save me!"

Raph was charging towards us and Leo spread his arms out to shield me. "Stop!" He ordered, and Raph did, surprisingly.

"Get outta the way Leo I have a twerp I gotta beat!" He snarled, causing me to whimper and attempt to blend in with Leo's shell.

"What did he do now?" My eldest sighed.

"He!" He silenced suddenly. "He, uh, splashed water in my face."

Leo stared at him in surprise. Well, when you put it that way his anger does seem like an overreaction. I giggled slightly and Leo nudged me to quiet down. "That's it?" He groaned.

"Well, it was unprovoked!" He growled, smashing his fist into the palm of his hand threateningly.

My blue turtle stared at him for a moment before putting one of his hands on his forehead and began walking to the kitchen. "I have a headache…"

"Uh, Leo?" I stuttered, looking up at the now dangerously looming Raph.

My older brother grinned at me evilly and I gulped.

Ooooo

After Raph got his aggression out, (on me, ow ow ow.) I retreated back to Don's lab and grabbed the papers I had printed out and looked them over quickly. I sighed slightly; man was this going to be a lot of work…but so worth it!

Maybe I'll go play some videogames to distract me before I need to start dinner…

Ooooo

The next week or so was very hard, but very rewarding. Sneaking out was difficult, mostly because of Leo. I mean, he's the Ultimate Ninja; it's hard to pull one past him. But I managed, somehow. Mostly by being lucky. Well, Raph always says I'm the definition of dumb luck.

But once I do manage to get out of the lair, being around the dogs is so much fun.

They are so cute, Sweetiepie is such a good mother, and her babies are just as awesome.

They finally opened their eyes and were starting to balance more on their feet. I gave them names too, even though growing attached to them would just make giving them away harder.

The littlest girl I named Sweetpea, mostly because she looked the most like her mother. I garnered she was the youngest. Next was the two oldest, a boy and a girl and they looked very much alike. But the boy was a little smaller, and had cute little black stripes down his back. I named him Tiger. Then his sister, who had a cute little white shaped spot on his back, I named Lily. Tiger Lily. Get it? I'm amazing.

One of my fondest memories from that week was a few days after they gained sight. I was relaxing on my plastron in the middle of the little clearing and was watching the puppies sleep on a blanket I laid out for them. Sweetiepie was sleeping in the tree. Suddenly Sweetpea woke up and wandered away from the blanket, I wondered if she really knew what she was doing.

After getting a few feet from the blanket, she seemed to realize what she was doing and was upset about it. She sat down on her cute little behind and started to cry. Feeling my heart break at the sight I was about to get up to grab her (I don't think she realized she was only a few feet from me) when Lily stirred. Lily got up clumsily and started walking towards her sibling.

I really wished I had a video camera with me, because Lily walked up to Sweetpea, yipped at her, grabbed her ear with her little mouth and led her back to the blanket, where they then curled up around Tiger and fell back asleep.

I didn't stop squealing for like, five minutes. I woke Sweetiepie up, she was displeased.

Sweetiepie was doing a lot better as well. She was still pretty skinny, but I read that emaciated dogs took awhile to get to a good weight, but her skin was a bit shinier and her eyes bright. She seemed to have warmed up to me pretty quick, because whenever she saw me she would bark happily and even abandon her post to greet me. I was already planning my argument that would convince my family to let me keep her. That way I could have a Ninja dog to go with my Ninja cat!

But today, as I did the dishes (Don cooked breakfast today and of course _I_ was stuck with the cleaning.) I couldn't help but have a really bad feeling. I was desperate to go see my little ones. Instead of sneaking out, I went ahead and told them I was going to go take a run in the sewers. Raph and Don waved me off but Leo looked a little more concerned. Since the snow had let up, we were doing training runs/patrols again. The other day we ran into some Foot. It wasn't too bad, we all got away relatively unscathed but it was enough to refill Leo's paranoia bottle.

"Maybe wear a hoodie Mikey." He advised me, handing me my shell cell. "It IS still cold after all…"

"Nahh, it'll be fine." I said, jogging towards the door. "The running will keep me warm."

"Alright…be careful Mikey." He told me, ignoring Raph's scoff.

I grinned at him, trying to mask my anxiousness. "Will do. See ya!"

I practically sprinted down the sewers, going for the nearest Manhole that would take me right up to central park.

Exiting the sewer, I expertly sneaked my way across the park and towards the hiding place of my pups.

When I got there I felt my heart drop down to my stomach.

As I hid behind a tree and peeked out I saw three _punks_ standing there. Sweetiepie was growling at them, and I could see one holding her down. Another with a ridiculous spiky blue Mohawk on his head was holding Sweetpea and laughing. There was another standing over the other two. Lily was growling at them.

"Man, my lil' sis was wantin' a pup, and lookie here, free ones!" The one holding Sweetpea laughed cruelly.

"Gotta get rid o' da mom though." The one holding down my German Shepherd said. I felt a wave of anger go through me.

"Ah, well now I can show you guys what I stole from my dad." The one standing over the other two pups laughed. I felt panic well in me as the guy reached into one of his baggy pockets…and pulled out a gun.

"Well perfect." The one holding Sweetiepie laughed, holding her down more forcefully. "Ya know how ta work that thing?"

"O' course." The gun wielding jerkwad grinned, pointing it towards my baby.

Time to channel my inner Raph.

With an angry yell I sprung from my hiding place and kicked the one holding a gun in the head.

"What the fuck!" The one holding Sweetpea yelled, dropping the pup in surprise. Lily, surprising, dove towards her, Tiger following at a more leisurely pace.

"You punks have nothin' better to do then harass dogs? Man, they don't give kids enough homework these days." I yelled at them, turning towards the one holding Sweetiepie down and kicked him off of her.

"Back off freak!" The one holding the gun spit out, pointing the gun at me.

Woops, probably should have grabbed that first.

I lifted my hands in a gesture of surrender.

"Man, think of how much we could get if we turned this thing in!" The one who held Sweetpea yelled, coming up behind me.

"Look kids, you're way too young to be getting into this kind of trouble, just go home okay?" I said slowly, keeping my eye on the gun.

"Shut up ya green freak!" The one holding the gun yelled and I winced when I heard the click of the safety turning off.

Suddenly, Sweetiepie was there. With a loud growl she dove at the punk and latched onto his thigh, squeezing furiously and beginning to thrash her head.

"Way to go Sweetie!" I yelled, feeling no sympathy for the guy's screams of pain.

The one behind me ran towards me, but I easily grabbed him by his hoodie and swung him into the other punk (the one that was _not _currently getting his butt whooped by my dog!).

I was about to turn back to the last punk standing when a loud shot rang out and a painful yelp followed.

Spinning around I stared in horror as Sweetiepie let go of the punks leg and fell down to the ground, totally limp, blood beginning to pool around her.

"NO!" I yelled, charging at the injured boy. Grabbing him I punched him with all my might and felt an immense satisfaction when some teeth flew from his mouth. He passed out instantly. I swung around and threw him at the other two, making sure his gun stayed behind.

"GET OUT OF HERE!" I practically screamed. I'm sure seeing a giant mutant turtle was intimidating enough, but seeing one that was _pissed as all hell_ was not helping. With yells of fear they turned tail and ran, dragging their friend with them.

I dropped to my knees next to Sweetiepie and felt myself tearing up. "No, no, nonononono…" I sniffed. Uncaring of the blood I wrapped my arms around my Sweetie and hugged her to my body, staring at her face.

Her eyes opened and she looked at me, her eyes already starting to cloud over. I felt tears beginning to soak into my face and down my cheeks. "It's okay Sweetie, it;s okay, I-I'll get you to Donnie and…and…" She whined to me and looked over at her puppies, who were staring at us in confusion. I laughed softly, but it held no humor. "Y-yeah, I'll take care of your puppies don't you worry just, just don't give up okay!"

Her tail thumped once, twice…before her entire body fell limp. I stared at her open eyes, hoping to see something to assure me she wasn't gone…but it was useless. I gently laid her down, now completely covered in her blood and closed her eyes. "You…you were a brave girl Sweetiepie…so brave…" Wide eyed I stumbled over to the hole, ignoring her crying pups for now (although I didn't let them run over to their mother, much to their displeasure.) I grabbed almost all the blankets and returned to my dog's body, the dog that saved my life, and gently wrapped her up in them. It would do until I could bury her properly, but that was the farthest thing from my mind right now.

I gently placed her in the hole and stared at my blood stained hands for awhile. I looked over at the gun and picked it up. Suddenly angry I let out a scream and ran towards a nearby pond, throwing the device in it and startling the fish.

I stumbled back to the clearing to the puppies sniffing at their dead mother. Feeling a fresh wave of tears hit me, I collected them in my arms and held them tightly as they struggled and cried. I knew that they had figured it out.

Finally I took off; all that was running through my head was to get back to the lair. I somehow managed to stay in the shadows, but I was moving so fast that no one could catch me anyway.

Finally I arrived at the abandoned warehouse. Running towards the elevator, I entered it and waited for it to arrive at the main level. My legs were shaking the entire time.

Finally the door opened and the first person I saw was Raph at his punching bag. I moved to call out to him but all I could do was choke on my words.

Looking up, I saw his eyes widen. Well, I was covered in the blood after all.

"MIKEY!" He yelled out. Leo who was nearby with Master Splinter looked up as well and ran towards me when he saw the blood, yelling for Donnie.

Don, realizing the serious panic in Leo's voice exited his lab and ran over as well. "Mikey? Mikey are you alright?" He asked me, his eyes searching for wounds.

I just looked over at him blankly. Raph touched my shoulder and shook me slightly. I looked down at the little beings in my arms, staring up at me with cloudy, innocent eyes. Suddenly it all hit me, the stress of sneaking out for the past week and caring for actual living beings, the panic of someone hurting said beings, the almost point blank gun shot at my heart, the fact that an _innocent _creature sacrificed her life for _me,_ that I had to watch her die in my arms. I've always felt a strong connection to animals, so I guess it's not really that big of a surprise that I just _broke._

I began to sob, hysterically. My family reeled back in surprise and looked at each other. I hadn't cried like that in years. Spurred on by me, the puppies began to whine and cry as well. Falling to my knees, I just cried and cried.

My brother's had no idea what to do. First their _adorable_ (don't laugh!)little brother was sobbing and crying, holding three puppies who were also crying…all the while covered in blood. Just take a picture and slap me next to the definition of pitiful.

Master Splinter finally stepped forward. He placed a clawed hand on my forehead and I looked up at him, my blue eyes glistening with tears.

"My son, hush, hush please and tell us what is wrong." He spoke to me, stern but concerned. I paused for a moment, before I was painfully reminded of Sweetiepie again.

If possible, my eyes got even wider as I stared at my father. "Father!" I wailed, leaning into him. He immediately wrapped his arms around my shoulders and stroked my head, murmuring comforting words to me. The puppies quieted down, but I think it was more because they were mesmerized by Master Splinter then comforted.

I felt three hands touch my shell and it was then that I was finally able to calm myself. Taking a deep, shuddery breath I looked up at them before looking down at my father. I noticed a dark red on his robe and I felt misery start to overtake me again. "I got blood on your clothes!" I cried as if it was the most tragic thing in the world.

"It is alright my son." He soothed, wiping a tear from my face. "I can easily get more."

"Michelangelo, are you hurt? Why are you covered in blood?" Leo finally asked, tilting my chin so I would look at him.

I shook my head. "N-no…it's not…my blood."

"Then who's is it!" Raph yelled, obviously fed up. He clearly was worried, but we all knew he didn't have much knowledge on giving comfort. The best he could do his hug and declare to kill everything that upset us. He couldn't really do that right now.

"And…why do you have puppies?" Donatello asked, taking Sweetpea from me and lifting her up to face level. She stared at him piteously, making him smile slightly.

I sniffed again before sighing.

I ended up telling them the entire story while the puppies roughhoused in the middle of the living room and while Don wiped the blood off me with a wet washcloth.

When I was finished, Raph was the first to speak. "That's it? All of this over a dog!"

"An amazing dog!" I yelled at him, not accepting any crap from him. "She saved my life!"

"That she did." Leo said soothingly, nudging Raph harshly in the side. "We are very grateful. But Mikey, bro, why didn't you come to us?"

I sniffed and leaned into Don, who wrapped an arm around my shoulder. "I thought you'd make me give her up or something before they were well…I didn't want to give them to a shelter…what if she got put down or something? And the puppies…the puppies needed her." I explained.

"My son," Master Splinter started. "Trust is the most important aspect of family. You needed to trust us that we would not turn away something that clearly was most important to you. However, it is useless to speak of what ifs, for now we will care for these little ones."

"I should probably check them out, make sure they're healthy. They're like what…three weeks old?" Don asked, I nodded.

Raph let out a gruff sigh and picked up Tiger. He growled at Raph playfully and to my amusement my hothead growled back. "I guess they are kind a cute…" He sighed, putting the pup back down.

We watched them play a bit before Klunk decided to investigate all the noise. He walked into the living room and immediately froze when he spotted the three fluff balls. I could see his hackles slowly rising.

Of course, the three never saw a cat before and were instantly curious. Tiger and Sweetpea were a little concerned, but Lily strutted up (well, as much as a three week old pup could) to Klunk like she had all the confidence in the world. Klunk stared at her warily and Lily let her tail swing around wildly and yipped at Klunk. Warning growls emitted from my orange kitten and I couldn't help but giggle.

Suddenly Lily lifted a paw…and bopped Klunk right on the head. Everyone started laughing as Klunk hissed angrily and swiped at Lily, catching her in the muzzle. Crying in fear, confidence suddenly gone, she ran clumsily over to me and hid behind my ankle. Still chuckling I reached down and picked her up, cradling her against my collarbone. "Aww, did mean old Klunk scare you?" I cooed. Klunk seemed to scoff before strutting out of the room, clearly offended.

Donnie continued to laugh as he walked over and picked up Sweetpea again. "Alright. I'll check these guys over."

"Should we go get supplies Don?" Leo asked, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Yup, we need puppy formula, beakers...some canned food…they don't need vaccines yet. I'll call you if they need de-wormer or anything though." Don explained, picking up Tiger and taking Lily from me.

"Uh, I actually bought all that stuff…it's over where I kept…" I went silent. Leo smiled at me softly and patted my shoulder.

"Come on…I'd like to give my thanks to the brave soul that saved my little brother." Leo said. I stared up at him, checking his eyes for any sign of jest. Finding none, I gave him the best smile I could at the moment.

"Thanks Leo."

Ooooooooo

Raph ended up coming with us. He said it was for protection, but I bet he just wanted to give moral support and maybe give his thanks too. Leo brought a shovel, and we figured we'd bury her in the clearing that had been her home.

We were all wearing heavy gear, so we walked calmly towards the trees on the path. Well, they walked calmly; I walked like I was heading towards my doom. I really didn't want to go back…didn't want to see her body. But we needed to give her a proper burial…we had to.

I stopped just outside the pack of trees and took a shaky breath. My brothers stopped with me and Raph placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. "You alright bro?" He said, trying to mask his concern.

I gave him a small smile. "Let's just…get this over with…" I murmured before walking quickly towards the clearing.

I gulped when we got there and the first thing I saw was the blanket bundle in the tree. My leader and my hothead stepped in front of me and kneeled by the bundle. I heard Leo mumble something and pull down the blanket just enough so they could see her face.

"Thank you for protecting our littlest," Leo said, smiling at her peaceful face. "In return, we will care for your babies. Rest in peace."

I heard Raph scoff a little bit before he hesitantly brushed his finger tips against her face and muttered a quick thanks. I couldn't help but smile at the sight. I went over to the bush that held the supplies I bought as Leo and Raph stood up and my blue brother began to dig a hole. Suddenly I remembered.

"Uh…Raphie?" I murmured.

"What is it?" He asked, turning towards me.

"The gun the kids had…I threw it in the pond over there." I said, pointing to my left.

"Ugh, in a pond?" He groaned.

"Better get it Raph; it'd be bad if someone found it. Maybe Don can use it for parts or something." Leo told him, still digging.

He muttered angrily (something unpleasant about Leo, I'm sure) and stomped his way towards the direction of the pond. My leader chuckled.

When Raph came back looking a little wet holding an equally wet gun, and when Leo had finished digging the hole, I gently went over to the body of my Sweetiepie and lifted her. Walking over to the hole, I gently lowered her in and sniffed. "Bye Sweetie, I'll miss you…"

I turned away as Leo started to fill the hole back up, tears threatening to fall again.

I was staring down at the ground went suddenly a flower entered my vision. Following the green arm gripping the yellow flower up to the face of my hothead I saw that Raphie was looking away and had a bit of red on his cheeks.

"It's not a funeral unless there's flowers right?" He grumbled, pushing the flower into my hands. I looked at it before looking up at him in surprise. There was a pause, before I was laughing and throwing my arms around his neck.

Raphie yelled in surprise and protested, but I didn't let go. "You're the best Raphie." I told him.

He stopped struggling and patted my shell. "Yeah…ya don't hafta tell me what I already know." He said with a small smirk.

When Leo said he was finished, I gently lowered the flower onto the mound of dirt, said a small good bye…and booked it out of the clearing. Ugh I was about to start crying again. Leo and Raph looked at each other before grabbing the puppy supplies and following at a more leisurely pace.

Oooooooo

When we got back Don immediately took the puppy formula from us and made it. "Help me feed them." He demanded, throwing a bottle my way.

"Of course!" I replied.

Leo offered to feed one as well and pretty soon we were all sitting around the kitchen table and watching the little puppies suckle at the bottles.

I sighed quietly and looked up at Don. "Are they gonna be alright?"

"I'm a little worried about them being off of mommy's milk, but they really should be fine. I think by the full moon in a few weeks I'll need to de-worm them…but we don't have to worry about that now…" Don trailed off, beginning to talk to himself quietly, watching Tiger continue to eat.

Raph let out a long sigh. "Man, they're gonna poop everywhere." He whined.

I let out a bark of laughter but smothered it at his glare. I tried to turn all my attention back to Sweetpea.

"That's a good point actually, where are we going to put…the waste?" Leo asked, cradling Lily a little tighter.

"We can always take them up through the garage." Don spoke up, placing the puppy on the table so he could get up and wash the now empty bottle.

"And…we do live in the sewers." I said with a cheeky grin.

I still don't think I deserved that slap to the head. Stupid Raph.

Ooooooooooo

The next few weeks were pretty crazy. The puppies were just shooting up each and every day. They need a lot of feeding, and I was usually the one to wake up in the middle of the nights to do it. I didn't mind, they _were _my responsibility in the first place. I was somewhat offended that everyone seemed so surprised about how serious I was about taking care of these little guys. Meanies.

I seriously know what new mothers feel like though, having to get up during the night so much to feed their babies. I was tired, very tired, and it was very noticeable during training. But I pushed through it.

Now at five weeks, the babies were less inclined to eat at all hours of the day and Don said we could start feeding them a little canned food mixed in with milk.

The first try…didn't turn out so well. The puppies had more fun rolling in the pan full of the mushy food then actually eat it. It was a big, gross mess and Don and I had to give them baths. They definitely didn't enjoy that. The next time we used a bowl instead and taped them down so the pups couldn't move them around, and stood nearby with towels to wipe them clean whenever their little paws or heads got into the mix.

Leo and Raph were always strangely absent during feeding time.

Don and I also went and got the puppies toys. They were growing some sharp canines now, and wanting to teeth. They also needed their first round of shots, apparently. I'm assuming Don knows what he's talking about, he usually does.

Master Splinter actually seems to enjoy helping us take care of the puppies. I think he mentioned something to Leo that he was reminded of us, back when we were this helpless. I should complimented that we were compared to puppies, I guess, and not horrible soul eating demons.

We kept them in the living room where it was easy to keep an eye on them. Raph and Don made a big fenced in area in the middle. So usually when I'm watching TV or playing videos, I'm sitting inside within the fenced in area with puppies sleeping on me or attempting to eat me. My family thinks it's adorable for some reason.

The hurt of Sweetiepie's passing has slowly, but surely, started to sting less. It really is hard to be sad around puppies.

Lily was definitely the leader of the pack. She was about ten pounds, a dark black color with cute little brown socks on all her feet and her white spot has grown bigger. Her muzzle was also the longest, with a row of sharp, _sharp_ teeth. Her ears were big a floppy, and her paws were _huge._ I was slightly terrified to find out how big she was going to be. Lily would always be found standing guard over her siblings, which I just found adorable. Leo took a liking to her, and if I couldn't find her the first place I'd check would be Leo's room. I found him one reading out loud to her as she rested on his bed. It was so cute, but he definitely would never live it down.

Don and Master Splinter seemed to have taken a real shining to Tiger. The stripes that made me give him the name grew more pronounced and farther apart. He was about…8 pounds. His legs were long though, his paws about the same size as Lily's so I knew they'd probably be around the same size. His head was mostly brown, except for this black spot that covered the end of his muzzle, disguising his black nose with the rest of his face. He had a white paw on his back right leg, but the rest were pure brown stockings. He was very mellow and calm. Lily tended to be rather rambunctious and would pounce all over him, biting at his floppy ears and generally being obnoxious. He would whine and allow it though. Although every time he let out a yelp of pain from his sister's rough treatment Don, or Master Splinter would come in and gently take Tiger from Lily. Master Splinter would lecture Lily in the concept of gentleness (her blank stare was cute) and Don would just lecture Tiger to grow a backbone (he would just lick Don's beak if my genius brought him to close to his face).

Sweetpea was definitely the smallest, ranging at around seven pounds. Normal, but definitely not as big as her siblings. She was mostly black, her brown markings small and not very pronounced. Her paws were half the size of her siblings, but she had a long tail and long ears. She was the gentlest of the puppies, and Tiger felt more confident playing with her then with Lily (although she would always interrupt them when they played and poor little Sweetpea would end up on the bottom of the doggie pile). To my surprise, Raph was very affectionate to her. She fit right in the nook of his neck and rested nicely against his shell and it was common now for him to walk around the lair with the pup. I got a picture of them (he doesn't know that yet though, don't tell).

She always came running to greet him at the fence when he walked by too. He tried to ignore her sometimes, but not even my hot head can ignore the pitiful whining of a puppy.

But of course, the puppies loved me, Mikey, the most. I mean, how could they not? I _am_ the Battle Nexus Champion.

Okay…maybe it was mostly the fact that they were introduced to me at a young age but I'm still going for the Battle Nexus reason.

One time I was watching a scary movie and the puppies were curled up around me on the couch, Lily was biting at Sweetpea's ears but it was friendly…I suppose.

Suddenly a jump scare happened and it made me shriek and bounce a little on the couch. The puppies immediately looked at me like I was crazy and proceeded to try and eat my hands. I ended up missing the movie because I was playing with them so much.

Another time we were training and Master Splinter was yelling instructions to us as we preformed the moves. However, we didn't realize that Lily had gotten out and was wandering around the area. She then spotted Master Splinter's subconsciously moving tail and decided to investigate. And by investigate, I mean pounce on it and sink her sharp little baby teeth into his tail.

I've never heard Master scream like that before.

After prying Lily from his tail, we made him some tea and basically waited on him hand and foot. I even held Lily up to his face and began to mimic her voice telling him sorry. She just yawned.

Then one night I was walking down to start breakfast when I noticed a large, green lump in the puppy's fenced in area. Walking over, I had to slap a hand over my mouth to stifle my cry of endearment.

Raphie boy was curled up within the fence, all the puppies resting on his plastron. He looked peaceful, and his hand was drawing little patterns in Sweetpea's fur.

I took a picture, of course.

He also doesn't know about that one.

But despite my protests, the puppies continued to grow until they were three months old.

I knew it was almost time to find them new homes. I was not happy. I loved these little guys, even Klunkers was starting to get used to them (even though he was possessive of me, when he was in the same room with me and the puppies he made a big show of running against my ankles and leaping onto my shoulder).

They were about big now, and starting to become too much for us to handle. They no longer fit in the little fenced in area and we were forced to let them free to roam. Many things were ruined during their exploration periods.

But they were still adorable.

April, who knew of them by then, offered to take them so that she could train them to be potty trained and learn basic commands like heel and sit. I was hesitant to do so, I didn't want to dump all this work on her, but when she told me that she was expecting me to come help I finally agreed. My family was happy to let her have them.

Their last day in the lair was sad, for me anyway. I played with them as much as I could, running around and playing fetch and tug-a-war. I was distracted all through training, wanting to be around them while I still could. Master Splinter wasn't very forgiving though.

Finally, I put leashes on their collars (cute purple/pink ones for the girls and a badass black one Raph picked out for Tiger) and tearfully took them up the elevator, where I would then walk them to April's.

Don came with me to give instructions and supplies to April.

The walk to April's was long, mostly because the puppies didn't get out of the lair much so everything was pretty new. I was embarrassed every time they barked at cars, people, and other dogs though. It was hard to quiet thirty pound German Shepherds.

But we arrived eventually.

Then began the next month of training.

I would run up to April's every day after training and we would take the dogs running, train them a bit, and I would help her feed them. I also helped her with encouraging the pups to do their business outside.

Finally, after four months…I had to start looking for homes for them.

We decided to give them away. We made signs to put outside April's house, and I sat on a blanket in the corner of the store, holding them near me by their leashes. While we were giving them away, I was a protective father and I wasn't going to give them to just _anyone._

My brothers were there for emotional support, although they looked slightly intimidating sitting on the stairs dressed in heavy baggy clothes.

After about an hour a family came in. There was a tall, kind looking father, a gentle but stern looking mother, and two kids, looking to be around ten.

As soon as the girl noticed the puppies, she squealed and ran over. At the unexpected noise, Sweetpea ran and hid behind me. The little girl seemed put out but continued over anyway.

"Jessica!" Her mother admonished, coming after her. "Be polite, ask first."

I gave the girl a sweet smile as she stood there toeing the ground, staring up at me from under her lashes.

"Can I pet your doggie's mister?" She asked.

"Of course," I said, pulling Sweetpea from behind me. "Just be gentle!"

She giggled and began to pet them, cuddling them and cooing at them excitedly as her parents browsed. Her brother came over as well and joined in the fun.

Finally after a few minutes her parents came over. Immediately the kids began to beg and plead with their parents, asking for one of my babies.

They accepted their arguments wordlessly for a moment before they looked at each other and back down at the puppies.

"How much are you asking for them son?" The father asked me kindly.

"Free, to a good home." I said with a smile. "They're healthy, about four months old now, full vaccinated."

He looked surprised. "All that and you're just giving them away."

I nodded. "For some reason, it makes it feel less like they're merchandise and that I'm just setting them free to find their own lives." I laughed.

The mother giggled slightly. "Well, what do you say kids? Which one do you want?"

"If we can have one, of course." The father added quickly, looking at me.

Looking over the family, I felt my heart clench in fear. They looked like a good family, and I knew in my heart one of my puppies would be happy with them. I looked over at my brothers and gave them a pleading look. Don gave me a thumbs up, mouthing you can do it, Raph just rolled his eyes and made a shooing motion, Leo gave me a small smile, nodding his head.

I took a deep breath and looked up at the father. "Yes, you can."

The kids squealed in joy, and all at once swarmed over Sweetpea. She didn't flinch.

"Her name is Sweetpea." I told them. "You can change it if you want, if she's the one you want."

"I like that name!" The girl announced, hugging the pup around the neck.

"It's okay." The brother sniffed.

"Well, we'll take her." The parents smiled. I stood up and slowly handed them the leash that was connected to Sweetpea's precious neck.

"Do ya mind…if I say good bye real quick?" I asked them, slightly embarrassed.

"Of course not!" The mother said, giving me a wide smile. "It's hard letting go of your babies."

I laughed. "Tell me about it."

I kneeled next to my little runt and rubbed her head, kissing her on her nose. She licked my face happily. "See ya, baby. You'll be happy okay?"

I felt a presence behind me and Sweetpea perked up, yipping excitedly. Raph kneeled down next to me and ruffled the top of her head. "See ya cutie." He whispered and as quickly as he was there, he was sitting back on the stairs like nothing happened.

Taking a deep breath, I sat back down, wrapping my arms around the last two puppies, mostly to keep me from reaching out and grabbed Sweetpea from them. "Take good care of her." I told them, a teasingly smile on my lips even though my eyes were completely serious.

The father handed the leash down to the boy and gave me a wide smile. "We will, don't worry."

They then began to walk towards the door, April telling them to have a good day, and my brothers all called their farewells too. I couldn't stop staring at the door for about five minutes after they were gone. Sighing, I nuzzled my head into Lily's soft fur. This was going to be harder than I thought.

Ooooooo

Another few hours passed, when suddenly a police officer entered the store. Me and my bros all tensed and the thought passed through my head that maybe giving away puppies was illegal. Spotting me, he walked over and smiled down at me and tipped his hat. "G'day to ya." He greeted me.

I plastered on a large smile. "Hello!"

He kneeled down in front of us and Lily and Tiger immediately greeted him excitedly.

As he petted them, he looked up at me and said. "I'm a K9 officer kid, and my loyal friend of a K9 is about to be put into retirement. He's been working on the force for about ten years now, and it's time he spent the last years of his life taking it easy on my couch. But now, I need a new partner. Do you think your puppies would be willing volunteers?"

I almost exploded from joy. One of _my _dogs? A POLICE DOG? Yes!

"Of course! In fact…Lily," I placed a hand on top of her head, hoping that he wouldn't ask about my green "gloves", "would be perfect for the job. She's very protective and smart, very brave as well. At three weeks she took on a scary and horrible enemy, a cat."

He gave a loud guffaw of laughter and turned most of his attention to my big girl. He studied her for a minute or so before he leaned his head down to her level and asked. "Hey girl, want to be a hero?"

She barked, and he laughed. "I'll take that as a yes. How much do you want for her boy?"

"Nothing." I explained once again. "Just, take really good care of her, okay?" I told him, handing him the leash. He took it and stood up.

"Thank you kindly son." The police officer smiled.

"Do ya mind…if I say good bye?" I asked.

"Go right ahead." He chuckled.

I kneeled in front of Lily and wrapped her in my arms. I heard one of my brothers rise from their positions and come beside me and I wasn't surprised to see it was Leo.

"That's a girl," He said, pride in his voice. "You train super hard okay?"

She barked and wagged her tail, licking us both.

As they were walking out the door, Tiger suddenly became upset and began barking frantically. They always were pretty close, often ganging up on little Sweetpea as they got older. Lily stopped and turned back towards Tiger, and barked at him, firmly, almost…comfortingly. He whimpered, barked again, before curling up in my awaiting arms.

She wagged her tail, thumping it against the police officer's leg, barked again, and led her new owner out of the store.

Watching them leave wasn't getting any easier.

Oooooooo

My brother's decided to abandon their positions on the stairs and sat around me instead. I was glad, their presences grounded me in my grief, keeping me from running out and searching for them and dragging them home. I missed my girls already. Tiger was definitely affected as well and kept close to me; chewing on my clothes or whatever else he could get his mouth around.

About an hour later, a shy looking man came in. He was very tall, but you almost couldn't tell the way he hunched into himself like he did.

He noticed us after a few minutes of looking around and shyly made his way over to us.

"U-Uh…hello…" he said quietly.

"Hello!" I greeted back, sounding loud in comparison even though I spoke at a normal volume.

He kneeled down and Tiger was quick to greet him, but was almost shy himself in a way. They got to know each other a little bit, and I noticed the man's eyes slowly beginning to light up and looking less and less like he was about to bolt at any moment.

"I um," He spoke up, startling me slightly. "I just moved to New York a few weeks okay. I think I'd feel better…if I had a big dog to watch my back and keep me company.

I smiled at him widely. "Well, Tiger's your dog then buddy. And he's free, all healthy and everything."

He looked up at me and smiled slightly. "Is it…really alright?"

"Of course." I said seriously, petting long strokes down Tiger's back. I held the leash out to him.

He looked down into Tiger's big eyes before looking back up at me and slowly reaching out and taking the leash from me.

Tiger turned towards me and I immediately enveloped my last pup in a hug. "See ya sweetie…" I murmured. This was it, my last puppy…and probably the last time I'll ever see him. I felt tears beginning to well up.

Donnie scooted forward and patted Tiger's head. "Now remember Tiger," He said seriously. "Don't let people push you around!"

Tiger looked up at my bro and barked, almost as if he was agreeing.

The man stood slowly and I let go.

"Thank you, very much." The man said and began to walk towards the exit. Tiger hesitated for a second, but after some encouragement from me began to follow his new owner. He looked back at me once more, barked, and then…he was gone.

I stood, starting to feel panic and grief filling me. My brothers stood up behind me and Leo placed a hand on my shoulder. "It is gonna be alright Mike." He said soothingly.

I didn't even hesitate to turn and throw my arms around all of them, pulling them into a group hug as I began to cry. For once, Raph didn't even complain and my bros just let me cry out my sadness for the loss of my babies.

Oooooo

When we got back to the lair, I couldn't seem to scrounge up any desire to be happy-go-lucky. Everything reminded me of them, and even though we had cleaned up all their things a month ago, there still seemed to be remnants left behind.

I was lying on the couch, looking miserable and feeling sorry for myself when my father came up, holding a mug. Sitting up, he sat beside me and handed me the cup full of hot chocolate with marshmallows and whipped cream.

"A present from your brothers." My Master told me with a smile. I looked behind me and saw them all grouped at the doorway of the kitchen. They waved and I couldn't help but grin.

Taking that as permission, they walked over to the couch and leaned towards me. "Remember Mike," Donnie said, wrapping an arm around my neck and pulling me back against the back of the couch.

"While you hadta give up yer pups," Raph continued, jumping over the couch and plopping down beside me.

Leo walked around the couch and knelt in front of me, placing a hand over mine, the one holding the mug. "You'll never have to give up us."

"We are here for you, my son, and we always will be." Master Splinter added, smiling at me gently before making his way over to his recliner, giving Leo and Don enough room to squeeze onto the couch.

I looked at each of their faces before throwing my arms around their shoulders (the ones I could anyway). "You guys rock." I told them.

We spent the rest of the night watching scary movies, and I took comfort in the knowledge that yes, I had to give up the puppies, I'll never have to give up the memories of them.

Don whispered to me in the middle of the movie that he had been taking a lot of pictures of us interacting with the pups, and plans of a scrapbook began to fill my mind.

The picture of Raph sleeping with the puppies would definitely be going on the front cover.

**Okay. I think this story is really wordy, maybe overly long, and probably not as cute as I was hoping it would be but I DON'T EVEN CARE I WROTE IT TO THE BEST OF THE ABILITIES. *throws at website* **

**But if you did like it…please let me know lol. :D **

***: This happened while me and some friends were playing vid games together. It was really hilarious. **

****: Do you like my thinly veiled foreshadowing? I like my thinly veiled foreshadowing.**

*****: This is my RL sneaking in. I work at a pet food store, a local one and we're very big on customer service and stuff. We're really good nutritionists as well. lol**


End file.
